Disclaimer: Don't own it. Can't even set loose the mooring line.

Chapter 7 - Mutiny!

The sun had gone down and it was cold. Icy cold. The wind had picked up a little but so far there was no sign of an actual storm, though from what could be seen of the sky it was threatened. So far so good though. Jack peered outside from the safety of his cabin before the start of his watch at the wheel. He spun round as there was a sharp rap at the door and Barbossa appeared.

"Sorry to disturb yeh Captain," he said, "Can I be 'avin' a little word?"

Jack gestured towards his chair, and Barbossa strode into the room, closing the door behind him. He sat down and rested a leg casually up on Jack's table. Jack raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He watched Barbossa as he folded his arms and then his eyes met Jack's.

"Hmmm. And what might I be helping you with Barbossa?" Jack asked, as he approached the table, leaned over his first mate's leg and gripped a bottle of rum from the table. Suddenly thinking it might be a bad idea to drink tonight, he just held it instead of taking a swig. Barbossa seemed to suddenly remember his place and removed his leg from the table, but he retained his otherwise obstinate pose.

"We be headin' further and further into these strange waters Cap'n," he said gravely. "We be seein' the strangest of things sailin' the seas and the gents, they are getting mighty antsy."

Jack nodded and then looked again at Barbossa. "You have a new hat I see," he commented.

Indeed Barbossa did have a new hat. Comandeered from one of the crew, the new hat was not a patch on his old one but it was a similar shape and size and it would do until his share of the treasure bought a better one, perhaps with a feather or two. Barbossa looked puzzled for a second but he wasn't going to be distracted by the captain's tactics.

"The thing is Captain, everything an equal share and to me, that should mean the bearings too." Barbossa held up his hand to Jack as the captain grinned his trademark grin, "Now I know how you feel about this Captain, I do, but what with all the strange happenin's around these parts, we be riskin' life and limb for this venture and we need to know where we're goin.' Is' not a trifling need Jack, it's a desperate wantin' need."

Jack paced a little, his arms raised slightly, the half full bottle of rum still swinging in his hand. For good measure Jack took a swig, just a small one mind and he suddenly stopped, frowned and spun round to face the first mate. Barbossa looked cool, poised and relaxed in Jack's chair with his arms crossed across his chest. Jack was tired, although he refused to show it, and he admitted to himself that this voyage was testing him. The stories he had refused to believe when he first heard them, so far seemed to be true. He sighed and scratched his nose. It was too much to carry this knowledge alone. He needed to share it.

"Very well Barbossa, I shall tell yeh the bearings. But only because I have had a little think about things and your right! It's a bad idea for just ol' Jack to know where we're goin.' So I shall tell yeh. For the good of the crew mind."

"For the good of the crew, right enough," Barbossa nodded grimly. Inside he was dancing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was probably due to the events of the night before, and trying not to think of what might lay ahead that was making Jack feel a tad uneasy, he figured. He felt troubled but he dismissed it. As he always did. Everything would work out well, as soon as tonight's storm had passed, not that it had even arrived yet. But it was brewing, Jack knew it.

He continued to peer out the cabin windows at the sky above. Oh yes, trouble was brewing.

Up on deck, Barbossa paced with nervous excitement. The Pearl was as good as his and the treasure was within reach now that he knew the bearings to the island. Oh lady luck was smiling indeed. He caught William's eye, and smiled at him. "Bootstrap!" he suddenly barked, making the man jump a mile into the air it seemed. "Can you fetch our fine captain please, seems we be 'avin' a little problem up 'ere we need to sort out."

William swallowed. Was this it then? As he looked at Barbossa's face, his evil, smiling face, he honestly couldn't tell. He trudged slowly towards the cabin steps to fetch his friend and captain, the man he was about to betray. Down to the depths with all of them, he grimaced, they deserved it.

Jack grinned at him as he entered the cabin nervously. If he could tell William wasn't himself, he didn't show it. William quickly scanned Jack's cabin. A bottle lay on its side on the table, obviously empty. Ah. That explained Jack's happy face then. And if he had drunk a bottle of rum he obviously didn't mind not being a full piece of eight, as it were, which would only mean one thing. Barbossa knew the bearings too. William sighed to himself as he quietly confirmed in his mind what he already knew. Jack's lucky streak had betrayed him and he was about to lose his ship. He hoped with all his heart that Barbossa had meant what he said about not killing the man. William couldn't fully trust himself not to intervene otherwise, despite his longing to get back in once piece to see his family.

"Problem up on deck Jack," he murmured, his head hung low. He couldn't bear to look the man in the face. And he couldn't believe Barbossa had asked him to do this. The low down, dirty………

"Very well William. Lead the way then! Come come…." Jack stepped forward, sprightly and eager.

William trudged back up the steps, Jack behind him. Twice he almost turned round and shouted a warning to his friend to run, hide, do something but he knew that it was futile. Where could they go, realistically? Wedge themselves in the cabin? Wouldn't be long before the crew smashed their way in. Jump over the side of the ship? They wouldn't be alive for long doing that. Too many to take on at the point of a sword, and Barbossa was a better swordsman than both William and Jack anyway. Maybe better just to sit back, see what happened and then make a stand later. Yes that might about do it.

It quickly became apparent that there was indeed a problem up on the deck and it was quite a major one too. As Jack followed William, his entire crew slowly moved in and surrounded him and then Barbossa appeared, pushing his way through the men. He stood in front of Jack, his arms crossed again and looked him up and down as if he was the vilest creature to ever sail the seas. Jack was suddenly edgy although he tried not to show it. He straightened his hat and became slowly very aware that he had left his cutlass behind in his cabin. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Is there a problem lads?" Jack asked, clearing his throat.

Barbossa threw back his ugly head and laughed heartily. The crew surrounding Jack joined in, as his eyes darted from to another to another, trying desperately to find a friendly face among them. He found none. And where the hell had William gone?

Barbossa suddenly stopped laughing and stared at Jack once more, savouring the moment that he had waiting for, for three long nights on this voyage and way beyond. In the dark his eyes seemed black and evil, like endless pits. He stepped forward and Jack inched back slightly, trying to maintain a safe distance. Barbossa could see that Jack was rattled despite his cool demeanour, although that was dropping by the second.

Barbossa draped his filthy arm around Jack's shoulders. "It seems the men 'ere have a had a bit of re-think 'bout our situation Captain," he spat the last word as if venom. "We ave' taken a vote and it would appear, I am sorry to say, that they would prefer another in charge of our venture." He stepped away from Jack and spun around on him again, drawing his sword as he did so.

Jack swallowed and wrinkled his nose in distaste. He inched backwards a little more, only to collide with someone he probably called a friend only yesterday. That someone gripped the top of his arms and held him fast as Barbossa came closer with his sword.

Jack was still able to move his forearms, and he brought up his hands and pointed with both index fingers to the crew, his eyes narrowing. "You all feel the same do yeh? Yeh feel ol' Jack is not servin' your best interests as Captain?" There was a murmour and some of the crew looked around at each other but no one dared reply.

Jack knew the answer already. As he looked at Barbossa, he knew. The man he had recruited, down on his luck, who had had the most unfortunate time, had been thrown off his ship and left to swim ashore, but no one caring if he hadn't ever got there, he had all but gone and stood before him was a vile, dirty fighter. A man who would lie, cheat and stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Well, he was a pirate Jack supposed. Barbossa even seemed taller now somehow, and Jack knew he probably couldn't beat Barbossa with a sword, not that he had one currently. He had the bloody rum to blame for that, knocking him off his guard. Damn it.

Jack felt very cold as he suddenly realised that Barbossa could be planning in fact, to throw him off the ship as had been done to him and they were in the middle of the bloody ocean sailing into troubled waters. There was a sudden clap of thunder and it began to rain. Oh just fantastic.

Barbossa looked up at the rain and turned back to Jack his eyes flashing, and his face suddenly more alive than it had ever been. Yes this had been planned alright, right from the beginning. Jack knew that now. He was going to lose The Pearl, the treasure, everything. The Pearl, his beloved ship. Oh God. Oh God. Nevertheless he kept his gaze straight at Barbossa's eyes. He would never let the man know he was worried. Never.

"Lock him in the brig. We'll deal with him in tha' mornin." Barbossa snarled, and he strode off past Jack, giving him a nasty swipe across the head as he went. It didn't hurt him, it was the gesture that did the damage.

Quickly the men dispursed and William, of all people reappeared, his shoulders drooped and his head low. Jack eyed him thoughtfully. William, his most trusted friend on the ship. The man was outnumbered, even the two of them together could not take on Barbossa and his entire crew. Hah. Barbossa's crew. How quickly the tide turned.

"I'm so sorry Jack," William muttered as he tied Jack's wrists together in front of him. He took his friend's shoulder and nodded to the man still holding onto Jack to move away. "Won' be necessary," he said, knowing Jack was unlikely to try anything. Jack whipped his head around to see who had been behind him, well it was none other than Ragetti! Bloody Ragetti with his inexperience, and his bloody one eye. Well well well.

Barbossa had already taken up residence at the wheel and he waved cheerfully as Jack was led away by his friend. He walked alongside William and after disappearing below decks, let his friend lock him in the brig as the rains became heavier above. Well, let "Captain" Barbossa steer the ship through this one, Jack thought. It would appear not to be his problem anymore, he thought bitterly.

"Jack…" William said, and then stopped. In truth he had no clue what to say to the man. This was so wrong and there was nothing he could do about it. William had been hoping that it wasn't going to happen, that Barbossa would think better of it or that Jack would have taken Barbossa on and chopped his bloody head off, or chucked him off the ship. In reality William had known this couldn't happen, Jack, as good a fighter as he was with his instincts was never going to win Barbossa or even come close to it. And he could never take on the entire crew and win, especially with a bottle of rum inside him. Yet William had been hoping, as he stood at the back of the crew surrounding his friend, trying to shrink into the background and pretend it wasn't happening, hoping that Jack would pull something out of his bag of tricks. Ah, not this time it seemed.

Jack stood just on the other side of the bars, peering out at William. "I don' hold it against you Bootstrap," he said, and was smiling, smiling sadly at his friend who had betrayed him. William hung his head, he could not bear to look at Jack in the eye. "You gotta do whas' right by you, can't expect any more than that." Jack put his face right next to the bars and almost whispered to William, "You got a family at home, waitin' for yeh. Yeh get that treasure and yeh take it to em' Bill, ya' hear me? Don' stay with this idiot."

William looked up slowly and stared into Jack's eyes, still bright despite his current desperate situation. He nodded, hardly trusting himself to speak. "I will Jack. I will. I couldn' do anythin' I didn't want to do this, I said no, but he, Barbossa, he told em' all you couldn't be trusted to get us there and we were all goin' to die tryin.' I knew it wasn't true but they believed him, yeh know how stupid some of em' are and the rest are just too scared of 'im…" he sighed and shook his head in desperation.

Jack nodded. "S'alright Bill. I understand. Jus' don' do anything stupid."

William slowly climbed the steps back to the deck and Jack stared after him. He understood completely that his friend could do nothing to help him and he would not have thanked him for it had he tried. There would have two of them looking at being thrown overboard no doubt about that.

Jack watched as his William slowly disappeared above and found himself completely alone. But no matter, he thought, trying to be cheerful. He needed to hatch a plan – and quick.

How was he going to get out of this one then?

TBC